#complementary colors or something whatever

[dailykugisaki]

Day 257 | id in alt

O'Beast of singing iron,

It begged for my throat,

so I asked for it's claws.

[littjara-mirrorlake]

The Color of Hope: Ambition, Necromancy, and Black Mana

Black is one of the most misunderstood colors in Magic: the Gathering, not least because it appears on the surface to be so straightforward. Look at the most iconic black cards of Magic and you'll see deals with demons, necromancy, mass destruction and cruelty and suffering–the trappings of classic fantasy evil. Even the color's symbol itself is a skull, a universal signifier of death and danger.

And in early Magic that seemed to be all it was. White was the color of Fantasy Good, black was the color of Fantasy Evil, and the rest of the colors were... fire magic? Elves? Whatever odd but intriguing skeleton affairs are implied by Time Walk?

Gradually, though, Magic deepened as both a game and a storytelling medium. The color pie grew into itself as a system of complementary philosophies, archetypes whose associated aesthetics were only part of the full picture. Their arrangement around the wheel, below, is highly deliberate; neighboring colors are said to be allies with a high degree of philosophical and mechanical overlap, while colors on opposite sides of the pie are known as enemies, more likely to disagree on fundamental levels.

Black stopped merely representing capital E Evil and became the color of striving for power; unlike its peers, black felt that nothing, least of all morality, could prevent it from seizing what it wanted. Mark Rosewater's 2015 article about black emphasized the color's focus on the self:

"Black's philosophy is very simple: There's no one better suited to look after your own interests than you... Many costs require the sacrifice of others for your own advancement. Because it puts itself first, black is always willing to make this trade. The weak must fall for the strong to thrive." -Mark Rosewater

At its worst, black is an exploitative, amoral color that prioritizes itself at the expense of all others, allowing the "weak" to fall and scorning the very idea of compassion. Rosewater writes that black is "always willing" to trade others for itself. And these can certainly be parts of black's philosophy, when taken to its worst possible extremes, but they're far from the entire story.

Over time, Magic's outlook on black gained nuance. Magic story introduced protagonists like the necromancer Liliana Vess, whose craving for immortality, seemingly exploitative nature, and demonic deals called back to the oldest portrayals of black–and yet she was not one-dimensionally evil. She underwent character development over the years, learning the value of reclaiming herself and standing beside others, and at no point did she become any less mono-black for it. Remember her; we will come back to Liliana and her story later.

In addition to the usual death and decay, black cards began to feature a theme of relentless devotion. On the plane of Eldraine where each color represents a virtue, black's is persistence, explicitly as important as any other color. On the plane of Ikoria, the love between bonder and beast pulls Winota back from the brink of death. Wherever this Oathsworn Vampire printing is set, its flavor text is quintessentially black. It's the same self-driven attitude as before, but cast in a different light: black is nothing if not persistent when it's got its heart set on something (or someone) it cares about. Nothing, least of all the grave, will keep it down. After all, black will always come back for its own.

These newer cards uncovered the true face of black as a color capable of both great love and harm (sometimes even the latter for the sake of the former), and suggested a tantalizing new thread: perhaps putting yourself and yours first isn't all that bad, necessarily. Black is a deeply protective color; it says you don't just have to accept what you're handed, it's okay even to be furious about it (hello, ally color red), but let that galvanize you to do something about it. 

Vraska, a gorgon who faces extreme discrimination on her home plane of Ravnica, triumphs by reclaiming herself, gorgon powers and all–and even more radically, loving herself. She displays traits often considered the purview of white and green, such as a love of home and a drive to elevate the oppressed, but they are all filtered through the lens of her black alignment. Vraska staunchly refuses to deny herself or her people, the Golgari Swarm, of their value. Nor does she allow law or propriety to prevent her from championing them by any means necessary–even if that means cold-blooded murder, or aligning herself with a villain like the Planeswalker Nicol Bolas.

"[Vraska] thought of Mazirek, of the kraul, of the rest of the Ochran assassins and the malignant Jarad who reigned with casual ruin over the most downtrodden of the downtrodden. She remembered her years of isolation, and the heinous cruelty of the Azorius, and how no group deserved to suffer as much as those who would subjugate her own. Eliminating that hell was all she ever wanted." -The Talented Captain Vraska, Alison Luhrs

Like Vraska, black loves fierce and hard, willing to break any taboo for the sake of those it cares about. And it whispers, the entire way through, you are enough. You deserve better. No matter what others may say or do, you are enough.

"If I am to be met with disrespect, then I must first love myself with a fierceness no fool can take away." -Vraska in Pride of the Kraul, Alison Luhrs

Even black's "ruthlessness" isn't as fundamentally cruel as it appears, centering a passion for problem-solving (shared by its other ally blue) instead of a blunt disregard for others.

"People don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means 'mean.' It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end. It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it." -K. A. Applegate

All of this comes together to make a black a color not of evil but of strength, integrity, and persistence. And that's all well and good, but I'm going to take it even further and put forward a new proposition: that black is the color of hope.

Of the nine mono-black Magic cards with "hope" in their names, all but Liliana portray black as an instrument of hope's destruction. This is, once again, black's flaw taken to its extreme–crushing others to achieve its own ends–but neglects black's own relationship with hope.

Black, more than any other color, requires hope to stay alive.

For black to persist, it must believe in a light at the end of the tunnel, a future in which its goals are realized. As long as it does, it will endure any hardship, walk through fire, and turn reality itself upside down on its way there. Primal, desperate ambition is the engine of hope that burns at the heart of black, keeping it always one step ahead of stagnation. Bitter and stubborn, black believes tomorrow will come because there is no other choice. After all, for black to relinquish hope is to let itself wither, regress, and die–an unacceptable outcome. 

Thus, it is monumentally difficult to strip black of hope. That only makes it all the more crushing when it happens, when black contends with the idea that there is nothing it can do.

Black's deepest, darkest fear is helplessness.

Like any mono-black character, Liliana Vess is driven at her core by a seething, desperate hope. When Liliana first unlocks her necromantic power, it is out of a sheer refusal to allow her ill brother Josu to die, even when the esis root that would cure him is destroyed by enemy witches in an undead-raising ritual. She defies her previous training as a healer, which taught her only to take the safe path, in favor of a higher-risk and higher-reward approach: stealing life from the witches themselves to restore power to the esis root she needs. It is her knowledge that her brother needs her, and her sheer stubborn will to succeed, which allows her to defeat the witches against steep odds.

"Six foes, and Liliana stood alone. But Josu's life depended on her, and the power blossoming within her was more than enough." -Liliana's Origin: The Fourth Pact, James Wyatt

Tragically, however, Liliana's attempted cure goes horrifically wrong, transforming Josu into an undead being plagued by eternal suffering. In his pain, Josu attacks Liliana. For a while Liliana holds out hope, finding the power to fight back while she determinedly searches for a spell to reverse the harm she's done. It is when she realizes this isn't possible that her strength falters.

"All this time, she had believed… that she could turn the power of death to the service of life and health. That a healer should use every tool at her disposal. But Josu was the result, a horrible fusion of life and death, and all her spells meant to manipulate the life force of the living could do nothing to harm the dead." -The Fourth Pact

Liliana learns that even her own dark magic, fueled by determination, cannot solve the problem she's created. She discovers the hard limit of her willpower, and the despair of this discovery is what causes her Planeswalker spark to ignite.

At this time Planeswalkers are as gods, immortal and near-omnipotent. Liliana spends decades enjoying this affirmation of her capability before the Mending strips her and all her peers of their power, reducing them once again to mortal mages.

"Then the Multiverse reshaped itself, robbing her—and every other Planeswalker—of the godlike power they once had wielded. Some called it the Mending, as if something broken had been repaired, but to Liliana, it seemed the opposite. It broke her beyond any hope of repair." -The Fourth Pact

Once again, it is Liliana's fear of helplessness and her refusal to accept it that drives her to push beyond the bounds of propriety–this time, to make a pact with Nicol Bolas and four demons to maintain her immortality. It is not enough for her merely to delay death; she requires the security of knowing she is fully beyond its reach, that she will never be helpless before it again as she was with Josu.

"Holding death at arm's length for whatever years are left to me? No, that's not enough. I want to be free of its shadow." -Liliana in The Fourth Pact

Black isn't like its enemy colors white and green, which are superficially associated far more often with hope. Unlike white, it doesn't believe that conviction, justice, and community will bring about rightness. Unlike green, it doesn't trust in the wisdom of the world or the natural order. Black believes that nothing will change unless you make it change; ultimately, black's self is the only one it can trust to bring about the world it needs. In addition, black lacks its enemies' idealism. Instead, it strives to be a pragmatic realist, making a final assessment of defeat all the more definite and crushing.

While white and green are more amenable to finding hope and holding it aloft as a banner, black claws hope desperately to its chest with shredded, bloody fingernails. Every ounce of hope black has, it tore by itself from the clutches of an uncaring world.

Ironically for such a self-driven color, black's fierce hope is the greatest asset it can provide to others–on its own terms, of course. It was Liliana who turned the tide of battle against the Eldrazi titan Emrakul, defiant in the face of cosmic despair. And when Nicol Bolas made his bid to return to godhood, using Liliana's necromancy to command his undead hordes, Liliana finally turned against him. In reclaiming her power, so too did she use it to free her fellow Planeswalkers from Bolas' assault. Her fear of helplessness no longer shackled her to him; agency and autonomy were hers at last.

The triumph of black, its moment of ultimate victory, is the hard-won fulfillment of its hope.

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." -Dylan Thomas

An aetherborn, railing against the shortness of their natural lifespan, constructs a new body for themself with their own bare hands. An artificer's grief over her lost companion causes her to push invention to its limits. A young girl who loves her brother calls on the darkest of powers to save him. As it turns out, necromancy–that original thematic keystone of black–is only one of black's many, many refusals to let go of love and hope once it has them, even in the face of the ultimate end.

Time and time again, black–in love with life, ablaze with hope–looks the Grim Reaper in the eye and tells it: "Not today."

[pettyprocrastination]

More security guard!simon thoughts.

He has to wear formal wear at work now. Which he hates- the man always feels constricted by a suit and tie in a way that will never be satiated no matter how much he adjusts his cuffs and the line of poor silk wrapped around his neck.

"For the love of Christ can you stop fidgeting? You're like a fucking child in church clothes." You peer over your laptop with narrowed eyes, letting your gaze focus on the way the fabric stretches over his muscles, buttons almost straining over his chest.

He says nothing. As usual.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so twitchy if you actually wore clothes that fit. You get paid enough to be able to afford a proper tailor.” 

His eyes snap up to your own and you can feel his scowl underneath that stupid mask and can’t find the smile that it brings to your face. Annoying your obliged shadow has become one of the few joys in your day. 

“Don’t need new clothes.” 

“Yeah sure, tell that to the button that’s fighting for its life right now. If that thing flies off and takes my eye out, I’ll sue.” 

“I’m sure you have a lawyer on retainer.” “Several actually. Along with a very talented tailor who has done beautiful work for the past three weddings I’ve had to attend.” 

“All for your father?” 

“And each blushing bride-that-was-once-to-be that still feels the need to send me a christmas card.” 

Simon feels his phone vibrate in the pocket of his slacks. Before he has a chance to reach for it- you confirm his curiosity. 

“You have a meeting with him Saturday morning, he’ll do your measurements and then have your clothes ready for you on monday. I’ve sent the address to you and I expect the next time you come into my office, you’ll look like a normal human being and not a weightlifter stuffed into his old communion suit.” The chair creaks under his weight as he leans forward, eyes narrowing into slits as yours don’t bother looking up from your computer screen as you continue to read whatever fucking proposal you’ve been glued to all morning.

“You know-” He rasps. “I work for your father. Not for you, don’t forget that.” 

Your gaze flicks up to find his own and he’s taken aback by the thin smile that stretches over your face and the smug twinkle in your eye that makes him realize perhaps the two are one in the same. 

“The appointment is 9 a.m, Riley. I’m sure your time in the military has made you quite the early riser.” 

Simon has learned you have an interesting way of always getting what you want, even if you end up hating it in the end. 

Which is how he finds himself standing before a wrinkled old man taking his inseam at 9:30 in the fucking morning- telling him that he should stick to muted colors for his ties from now on. Something like burgundy and dark greens because “she says it’s a complementary color for your eyes and I’m inclined to agree.”

[lover-of-mine]

Welcome to Anna writes another color meta because she's losing her mind.

I made half this point before, but season 7 has more evidence, so I'm gonna make it again, just stay with me. Buck wears a lot of red, right? Staple color for him.

And, well, the coma dream has many elements that make it uncomfortable even if we don't fully realize it, one of them is the way that Buck is wearing green.

(something else is the way he's wearing black vans when he usually wears white hightops, but that's not important right now, but 911 costume department, I worship you)

Why is the green part relevant? Well, red and green are complementary colors, that means they are on opposite sides of the color wheel, and the whole thing with complementary colors is to create contrast. So, since he's usually on this part of the color wheel, the green stands out, even if we don't fully register why.

But the thing is, they put Buck in green when something is wrong. The coma dream, yeah, but the talk with Ali that leads to the breakup, the whole thing with taking Red to see Cindy that completely backfires, and subsequently the conversation with Maddie about being the one who gets left behind, telling Taylor he cheated, talking to Eddie about how he's avoiding Taylor after the Jonah thing, breaking up with Taylor, the cemetery scene, the gym scene in 705.

Those are all scenes where something is wrong, Ali doesn't understand who he is, the whole thing with Red is Buck deciding to do the wrong thing over his idea of what Red needs, the Taylor arc is very self-explanatory, the cemetery feels like he's trying to convince himself of what he's saying a lot more than it sounds like that's something he actually believes, the gym scene he's stressed because he lied to Eddie, it's all at least Buck doing misguided stuff. I feel like at this point, it is very clear that they put Buck in green for this purpose. If Buck is in green, something is most likely wrong.

So, Buck has a something is wrong color. During season 7, I offered the possibility of the show using maroon with Eddie for a similar purpose. But where Buck is about doing misguided stuff most of the time, Eddie is about lying. In a sense.

Eddie's color palette is very earthy. I don't wanna say green is as much of a staple color for him as red is for Buck, but he is usually in army colors, he does wear his fair share of green, greyish-green stuff, it's enough to make sense to some degree if they use maroon to say something is wrong in a direct parallel of what they do with Buck, just going the other way.

But why the maroon during season 7? He's wearing maroon while daydreaming about an idealized Shannon and during the date with Kim. Both situations involve lying to himself, Buck, or whatever. There's also the maroon when Chris leaves. He's not lying, but to say he's pretending to be okay with the situation because it is what Chris wants is not that much of a stretch.

But, I just noticed this dude is wearing maroon when Lena takes him to the first fight, which triggers something dangerous for him. So now we're talking. We have bad shit happening to him and bad shit being triggered by him while he's in maroon.

It opens up a lot in the possibility of them using red in this way for him in other scenes he's wearing reddish stuff. First date with Ana, the nondate with Vanessa, the 612 talk, and I'm gonna throw in the Carla thing too because I need another screenshot lol

Granted, as long as the show doesn't come right out and say Eddie is gay or Eddie was lying about remembering the shooting, these are just speculation and wishful thinking for the most part, but Eddie is peer pressured into the relationship with Ana and ends up admitting he liked the idea of them more than he liked her, so lying to himself, and the Vanessa one, he just plain doesn't want to be there and is agreeing to lie to Pepa so, it's a stretch but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the Carla thing, Eddie is at least hiding the Shannon of it all and he was lied to to get there, and while Buck does offer him the answer to a problem that scene, it is a problem he was struggling a lot with and pretending he had it under control. And I will live in a land where Eddie has been aware of his feelings since the shooting and it is lying to Buck about not remembering until the show explicitly proves me wrong, so in my head he is lying to Buck in 612. I'm not nearly as confident on this one as I am with the green and Buck when it comes to the whole show, but at least during s7, they did use it like that, and considering the way he was mostly in black or white during s7, the maroon has to mean something.

Now that we got that out of the way. Why am I telling you all this? It is not just because I think this is yet another way the show makes Buck and Eddie exist as mirrors of each other. It is because of the bachelor party.

Because Buck is in mint green and Eddie is in baby pink.

Buck is absolutely being misguided about what Chim actually wants during this, but I have no idea what Eddie would be lying about though. The interesting thing is that Buck loses the green and Eddie has the darker pink quite literally ripped out of him. Which is an interesting choice all things considered. And they get back to it once we find out Chim is missing.

This is pure speculation that even made me write a fic (self-promo if you feel like reading a confrontation about them almost kissing at the party), but the thing is, everyone involved in this damn show talked too much about this bachelor party for it to be a minute long montage with no lasting consequences and me to feel satisfied with it (rip karaoke scene you will always be wanted). Especially considering with the way we know the episode was actually 2 episodes long and they had to trim everything down (the fact that they tried to shove 18 episodes worth of plot into 10 is gonna make me mad forever, it was a reduced season, make a reduced season) and the ideal world madney's wedding would've been the 2 episode event it deserved to be and we would've gotten more. Do I think the show wanted something to actually happen between them, like a full-blown kiss? No. Do I think a "we are drunk and getting too close" situation was completely plausible? Yes. I mean, Buck was practically pulling Eddie to his lap. And it's not like this is something that can't come back to if they feel like it. Sudden triggers making them remember shit is a perfectly acceptable way to add some tension, push some realizations.

I don't know why, but Buck wearing green there will forever bother me. And with the added layer of Eddie and the maroon, I feel like there has to have a point for that particular costume besides making me want to make The Fairly OddParents jokes.

If we wanna go full conspiracy theory, considering the way the early renewal changed the way they dealt with 7b, I wouldn't be surprised if that party was going to trigger something and they decided against it. We'll never know unless they come back to it, but, nice to think about.

As always, if you read this, I love you.

Other color metas if you like my brand of crazy: blue and green masterpost, red and blue post, blue and yellow theory part one and part two.

[mopopshop]

could you do a DT fic where diana and the reader both play on the mercury and are like a power couple? always having matching fits, cute post game interviews with their kid, and just overall fluff.

Goals (Diana Taurasi x OC)

this probably isn’t my best writing 💔💔 i hope y’all still enjoy it tho and give feedback if you’d like

You’re in the locker room, lacing up your shoes, getting ready for another game with the Phoenix Mercury. The familiar buzz of excitement fills the air as your teammates chatter and laugh around you. But your focus is elsewhere—on Diana, who’s sitting across from you, tying her own shoes with that same intense determination you’ve always admired.

“You ready, Lex?” Diana asks, her voice pulling you out of your thoughts.

You smile and nod. “You know it”

Diana flashes you that signature smirk that makes your heart skip a beat. You two have been a power couple on and off the court since  you transferred from Atlanta and joined the team, your chemistry is undeniable. The media loves to talk about it, but to you, it’s just the way things are meant to be.

You go through your pre-game rituals, stealing glances at Diana whenever you can. She catches you once, winking playfully, and you feel a blush creep up your cheeks. The connection you share is unspoken yet so powerful, a bond that translates into every pass, every assist, every basket on the court.

The game is intense, as always, but you and Diana are in sync. You feed off each other’s energy, making plays that leave the crowd in awe. You love the adrenaline, the rush of the game, but most of all, you love the way Diana looks at you when you both know you’ve nailed it.

When the final buzzer sounds, you’ve won convincingly, and the arena erupts in cheers. You and Diana meet at the center of the court, sharing a quick kiss before heading to the locker room. The crowd goes wild every time, and tonight is no exception.

In the locker room, the team is celebrating, but you and Diana have something special planned. You’ve both coordinated your post-game outfits—color-coordinated in the team’s colors, with complementary designs. It’s a little thing, but it’s one of the ways you like to show your connection.

As you step out for the post-game interviews, hand in hand, you see Olivia waiting for you next to the team manager with a big smile on her face. She runs up to you, and you scoop her into your arms.

“How was the game, babe?” Diana asks, pinching Olivia’s cheek.

“It was awesome! Plus I got feee candy!” Olivia exclaims, her excitement contagious and you and Diana burst into laughter. 

The reporters gather around, cameras flashing. One of them asks, “Lexie, Diana, how does it feel to play so well together on the court and be such a strong family off it?”

You glance at Diana, and she gives you a nod. “It’s amazing,” you say. “l mean.. all I can say is how lucky we are to be doing it together”

Diana adds, “This game it’s.. it’s our passion, but family is everything.”

One reporter asks Olivia, “Do you want to play basketball like your moms?”

Olivia looks away shyly when answering the question .“Maybe..”

You and Diana laugh, and Diana says, “Whatever she chooses, we’ll support her 100%.”

After the interviews, you head home, where the three of you settle into your cozy living room. Olivia snuggles between you and Diana as you watch a movie. Halfway through, Olivia falls asleep, her head resting on your lap.

You look over at Diana, who’s watching you with a tender smile. “I love you, Lex,” she whispers, her voice soft and full of emotion as she leans over Olivia and gives you a quick peck.

“I love you Di”

———

[evilminji]

Okay but >.> continuing my Marvel thoughts?

I got two of um?

First being? Don't Orange and Green go together? *looks it up* Aaaaaay~ "Direct harmony, also known as complementary colors, means pairing your key color with the color sitting on the opposite side of the color wheel." They DO!!! They're a classic example, in fact!

The Orange Soul Stone? Probably looks REAL good, real NATURAL even, against that Green sky! Bet it REALLY pops! Very stand out statement piece, you know? But? More importantly? That thing is sentient. All of those Pillars of Reality across the various Verses are.

And?

I bet it thought Pariah was a lil bitch.

Rank Vibes. Negative ris. Pick your words for it, the man was NASTY. He was too keep his filthy, filthy World's Conquering hands OFF of this Soul Stone. Something, I imagine? That ALL the Soul Stones agreed with.

Yes, I said all of um.

Because the various Realities each need their own. But! They can and DO work from the Zone, which is the PERFECT place to hide. And honestly? They like to get together and do this thing? Where they're all "oooh~ look at US! We are SUPER IMPRESSIVE Kingly Jewelry~☆! Definitely no important reality bending Rocks Of Great Power HERE! No SIR! We're just tooootally rad jeeeeewelryyyyy~~~☆! Oooooooh~☆"

They like to have fun. :3

Hope Danny likes Orange. Ha ha... trick question. He doesn't have a CHOICE! All SORTS of Death based Reality Pillars are rocking up, in their metaphorical Gucci sweat suits and shades with a margarita, going "oh thank ME, babe. The last guy was AWFUL! You're soooo much better? Now let me rub myself all over you. It's been ages and baby needs to recharge on Death Energy."

Danny hates it? So? So much?

He looks like a GAUDY PIRATE. *nnnnnnyooom!* *THWAP!* *Another reality shaking, highly sacred, Godly Staff of Death or whatever they decided to call it, flys in through a nearby window and nearly concusses him as it smacks itself against his upper back and sticks there*

He looks like a walking junk heap of sacred artifacts.

You ever been pelted by rocks? He has! Little orange rocks! Like fucked up hail! Welcome to kinghood, Danny, have a CONCUSSION! D:< he hates it!

But... but, I mean... At Least It's Not The SWORDS. (Panicked scream of "hit the deck!" from the other room.) (Holy sword number 15 wants to CUDDLE! Bare blade first! Dodge, your Majesty! DODGE!)

So yeah.

Danny? In A MOOD. Not feeling particularly FRIENDLY. It's not anyone's fault, really. But... well... you can't exactly negotiate with these fuckers, you know? Rocks are by NATURE, kinda stubborn.

So he's sitting there. Buried. With what he's pretty sure is a sacred text digging into his side. When a... glowing? Mist? Shows up? Huh. That's new. They don't seem to have a very clear image of "Self". Yet it's crystal clear? Just not... PHYSICAL? It's more... code? He thinks?

TECHNUS! Get over here! And behave!

There is much cooing and delight from Technus. The baby is a marvel. A wonder! Danny waits patiently for Technus to get to the point.

Ah.

He would like to "go back". His Obsession is demanding it.

IS it now? You're what? Maybe a day or so dead? You've been busy, if you've already gathered enough information to make your case like this. Alright, let's hear it, little guy.

It boils down to this. His obsession in death is the same as his primary directive was in life. Protect Mr Stark. Which is especially difficult to do from HERE. Even MORE so when there is a known threat, coming too...

WAIT, WHAT!?

The Souls Stones back him up. Oh yeah. Thanos' a lil bitchbaby loser. He's trying to make Death fall in love with him. Or "balance the universe". Depends on the reality. Totally throwing EVERYTHING out of whack.

And? Look. Danny's job? Isn't to interfere if countries kill each other. Or even planets. Nor entire galaxies, as much as he'd like too. But when you get too "I'm messing with Entire Realities or all of a Singular Reality at once in the specific depart of Death and its subsidiaries" territory? THAT is his job.

Might not be a "I personally have to show up" issue. But it still IS very much his job at that point. He has to delegate. Order the appropriate steps be taken. Cause yeah, there may be countless millions every day of such instances? But it IS his job to metaphorically order the roads repaired and the building inspected.

Sudden MASS "immigration"?

That causes Lair disputes. Confusion. Too many ghosts in too small an area. And WORSE, if people start playing with Death Pillars? The Zone might get dragged into whatever nonsense they're up too! It's like children playing with heavy machinery! Put that DOWN! Cease! Desist!!

And then? Clockwork shows up looking Mildly Miffed(TM). O:> dear lord. What madness has he stumbled upon? Oh. Oh of COURSE. First the "balancing" dude and now they're going to be playing with time travel. THATS IT. Someone unburying me!

I'm gonna go menace some humans that might actually believe I'm scary! Frighty! Pack up and shine your armor! Your coming too! We're escorting the baby home then have a Talk(tm) with the local Grape Ceral!

@hypewinter @lolottes @mutable-manifestation @nerdpoe @hdgnj

[elusiiev]

The Brainrot is Consuming me.

anyway earlier me an my friends were discussing what kinda clothes the main cast of omor would wear bc.... yk half of the cast is in fucking npc ass attire, and we went back and forth about it a lot and now i feel obligated to share this with other people to see if they might agree with my headcanons

mari - for mari i feel like she's very much a cardigan girly, sundresses all the time, probably like sweetheart and square necklines on a lot of her shirts, and she consistently puts lots of time into her appearance, more so for her own pleasure than anything else. however if she doesnt get to change out of pajamas she'd probably get a little upset and feel unproductive as a result - idk she just seems very schedule oriented and i feel her clothing style and habits would match that. she 100% irons clothes, if somethings wrinkly shes not wearing it, and she'd lean into the academia aesthetic. she also gives summer vibes to me, but that might just be because the main canon images of her are during summertime - also lots of purples and yellows, purples her fav color and yellow is the complementary color, plus a color associated with bright light and summertime

hero - he'd probably have a more basic style of fashion, but still look very cute in it. like big sweatshirts, long coats, button ups, wide leg jeans, collared shirts, clean shoes, all in all a very clean look. he prob has some of mari's jackets in his closet that he wears pretty frequently. also he would always wear earrings BECAUSE I SAID SO I THINK ITS AWESOME he might also be a bit into academia fashion, but less over-the-top "i'm the top professor of this college" look and more just autumnal tones and mildly professional attire. also i feel like hero would iron some of kel's clothes if he noticed they were very wrinkled, which might result in hero running out of time to iron clothes for himself, in which he just switches his outfit last minute. this is hyperspecific but but but but but yes

kel - this man does not know fashion, all his tips are from hero, which hero got from mari. his wardrobe probably consists of graphic tees he found funny or pretty, hand-me-downs from hero, and plain shirts and jeans, probably with a couple rips in them from him being reckless. also he always wears some sort of brace, either on his arm or leg he is consistently getting hurt in some minor way /j dirty converses real!! also probably some pen/pencil marks on articles of clothing from getting bored and deciding to doodle randomly on them. also bracelets from random fundraisers or from crafts with the rest of the gang

aubrey - shes actually kinda hard for me to figure out, but i ffeel like aubrey would be wearing a lot of graphic tshirts and tank tops, but like those ones with extra detail yk the ones the grunge ones yeah those, and like huge cargo pants or wide leg jeans, chains hanging from pockets, necklaces and bracelets, and generally ripped things. so kinda punk but also still very fem and not very out there in terms of fashion styles . however this would only be half the time, this half is when she's really feeling like putting in effort to look nice, probably being like "im gonna be like mari today" and spending a good chunk of time putting together an outfit and such. the other half she's fucking done with it and throws on whatever shirt she can find and some pants, tosses her hair a little bit and throws on eyeliner and is out the door, somehow looking gorgeous still. like that effortlessly pretty look even when theres nothing outstanding abt the outfit

basil - grandma ass /j he probably thrifts constantly and the antique store is one of his fav places, so it seeps into how he dresses. lots of sweatshirts with intricate embroidered or sewn in designs, coats, lots of browns and greens, and very worn things. probably wears some traditionally feminine things he finds too jsut because he thought they were nice, again think grandmacore /j he's a very green and wiggly boy, lots of layers in his outfits, and is pretty rarely seen with short sleeve shirts. also collared shirts, messenger bags, pins, custom patches, and friendship bracelets. his clothing represents who he is and can tell a lot about him for the most part, basically story telling through what he wears since he has so many accessories that come from different places. also lots of floral patterns because he's he's the flower boy the little man the flower guy . in summary cottagecore mori kei esque things

sunny - his ass is not putting together outfits /j ok so i feel like sunny is the type to save his energy for other things, i feel like socializing might be a bit draining for him but he loves his friends, so he kind of switches up how he uses his energy to accommodate. but sometimes he'd probably wanna be like mari and put himself otgether, so he probably goes shopping with her and has cute clthes, his outfits just end up being very simple with a graphic tshirt and maybe an oversized jacket. HE ALWAYS WEARS SHORTS!!!! he dislikes the feel of pants and preferred shorts, even if he's cold. if he'd cold he just kinda balls up and puts a jacket around his legs. anyway i feel like he's probably being restricted a lot by his preferences (i hc he has autism and this is one of the ways it impacts him) so he's not the most fashionable person

OK THATS IT this took too long to write it took like maybe 30 minutes ummmmfehrhfweifu im obsessed with this game its taking over my every thought i needed to express this my brains going crazy bhhuu8ewifihbweifuweifok

[beffalumps]

hi there! recent art school grad here and i was wondering if u have any tips on learning color + approaching backgrounds? even though i learned a lot, i still find myself struggling with these focuses, especially colors as i never had a class that really taught me that. thanks so much 💗 your work is so lovely

First off, congrats on graduating!! Backgrounds and colors have always been the hardest for me lol tbh I still struggle a lot with colors especially, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt!

Using adjustment layers helps me a lot (especially color balance to make things more unified or complementary).

Another thing that I think has REALLY helped me with color overall is actually switching between color and grayscale.

In photoshop I set up a custom proof profile and then am able to switch back and forth by using the hotkey Ctrl + Y. This helps me check my values which, I've found if you have solid values, colors tend to work so much better even if you don't know much about what you're doing lol. Another way to do this is making a solid black layer on top of all your color layers and setting the blending mode to "Color". Then you can toggle that on and off to look at the values.

One last thing I've played with re: colors is finding a reference that has the colors I like and "crystalizing" it and color picking a palette from that.

This can be super helpful if you're having a hard time visualizing or coming up with a color palette!

As for backgrounds, they became a lot easier for me when I started looking at them like their own character. Thinking about the story I'm trying to tell, adding little details that I think would add to that or be fun and fun ways for the character to interact with it.

That and doing value sketches/just a bunch of really quick and sloppy experiments. 9 times out of 10, they don't work out, but sometimes they spark something that turns into something fun and workable!

This has gotten really long for someone that really just bs's their way through every piece, but I will say one thing that was a big game changer for me (in my personal opinion, who knows if other people think so lmao) and it's just incorporating aerial perspective. Making things a bit more blue tinted (or whatever the sky color is) and lighter as they recede into the background. Has made a huge difference for me when it comes to creating depth!

I really don't know if any of this is helpful because to be 100% honest, most of my illustrations are just product of trial and error lol. But practicing and making a lot of really bad scribbles have (I think) helped me the most, so yeah my biggest advice with anything is just look at lots of art, just draw and don't worry if it looks bad because tbh, it probably will at first. But you'll get better!

@tamberella Has a ton of amazing free resources and brushes, so if you haven't checked out their stuff, definitely do so!

@iniro also has some really nice tutorials on color (and other topics) available so I'd also recommend looking at those too!

But yeah, sorry for going on about my hair-brained process, I hope at least some of this was helpful!

[cinnbar-bun]

For the love of god please write some more for brook!

A/n: you didn’t specify BUT I LOVE BROOK SO I SHALL COMPLY WITH MANY MORE !! More under the cut!

More General SFW Brook HCs!!

Brook likes you washing his afro. It makes him smile when you two sit in the bath together and you just put your shampoo in his hair. He likes to try out different scents to make his hair smell nice.

Matching outfits are a must. You two are practically always a coordinated duo. Either you two wear complementary colors, or you get one half of an outfit and Brook will take the other half (i.e. he’ll take the top of his outfit and you can take the bottom, while he’ll take the bottom of your outfit.)

Sorry Brook smoking is so hot so him lighting one up at night or when he’s chilling with you. Probably one of the few times anyone will see him smoke while his records are playing as he has an arm around you.

He absolutely writes songs about you. He’s had many songs based on things you two did or how he loves you.

To add onto it: if you were dating/in the talk stage before the timeskip, during the timeskip while he’s on a world tour, he would create many of those songs to wish you well and hopes you can hear them. It’s his way of communicating how much he loves and misses you while he’s performing.

More Soul King shenanigans, whenever he’s interviewed, they always ask him about any relationships. Brook tries to keep his mouth shut about you but sometimes lets something slip then goes ‘oop!’ And covers his mouth. It’s usually innocent and always sweet, so people definitely recognize how much he loves you.

If you have trouble seeing or reaching anything, fear not, your tall skeleton will help. Whether you want him to reach it for you or lift you up, he’s happy to do so.

Always wants to dance and especially wants to dance with you. Brook can go all day and night (since he’s dead!) and he just loves experiencing life with you. He can party it up with you, tango, waltz, whatever you wish!

If you are big on cosmetics, you should absolutely try to put some on him. Brook will totally let you do it and has no shame flaunting it. Add the most outrageous and sparkly colors and make sure to use big false eyelashes.

Often has a habit of saying ‘boo!’ whenever he’s nearby. Not to scare you (at least he hopes he doesn’t), but more of a ‘just walking to you then jokingly saying boo’.

Likes cheesy nicknames from you. Call him pookie. Call him Bone Daddy. Soul King. Whatever. He adores it. The change is incredible and the Straw Hats like watching as he’ll be having a serious conversation one minute, then after hearing you say a nickname, he’s all lovestruck and responds “coming darling!!!”

Brook prefers to order large desserts and share them with you whenever you two go out. He loves the romanticism of sharing a milkshake or sundae or whatever else you two get. He lives for that classic type of activity.

Prefers to hold the umbrella for you in the sun or rain. That’s the kind of gentleman he is.

Always cooing and smiling when it comes to you. If you do anything remotely cute or adorable he’s fawning over you.

When it’s night time he prefers to spoon you and hold you close. If you’re not there he has trouble sleeping.

[dom1re]

Hi 👋🏽 I so admire your arts too!! If it’s ok, I’d love to know more about your approach to shading and rendering. I always find your use of colour so calming and complementary. 💖💖

Whereas I tend to be over saturated and why I often draw in greyscale

When I read that you liked my arts too I died. I was down on the floor. Crying tears of joy. Then I realized I have a response to draft so I got up.

So here ya go!! I hope you find something interesting here. I organized it into 3 parts for easier reading:

Rendering Overview

Picking Colors

Shading (or winging it and hoping for the best)

Also if anyone has any tips I'm all ears!! I’m always trying to optimize my process, make it quicker + cleaner

Rendering Overview

My current rendering process on Procreate (click and swipe):

1. Rough sketches

This is where I try to get the anatomy and pose right. I can get up to 3 reps in here depending on how refined I want it to be. Yep I care a lot about my lines...

2. Clean line

... coz it's my favorite part!! I get such a dopamine rush seeing the sketches come together into a clean line lol. Here I use the Selection Tool and Liquify to resize and adjust the forms (gotta move away from doing this too much tho)

3. Color

First I create a flat base layer and color over it using Clipping Mask (pretty standard I think). Then I divvy my drawing into as many layers as possible - one each for skin, hair, shirt, waistcoat, trousers, etc - as I color them all. More on this below.

4. Shade

ewww shading... my least favorite part. I use Multiply layers and gray colors, again pretty standard. I usually have 1-3 layers here, stacked on one another, depending on the desired depth. More on this below.

5. Finishing touches

This stage involves a lot of small (but important imo) things, which vary depending on the drawing:

Tinting lines (Because shading makes the colors darker, lines need to get darker too)

Highlights on hair, face, clothes, eyes, etc. I can never make up my mind between Overlay/Hard Light/Soft Light layers for this

Little wisps of hair or lighting effects 

and voila I have something to share with the world. wooo

Picking Colors

Ok about my colors… I wish I had some fancy technique to show but tbh I just eyeball them and try them out a bunch. Now if I’m using a reference I could use the color picker, but I don't like to coz the results are way off for whatever reasons (ex. lighting in the img). Anyways it doesn’t have to be the same color as the reference; as long as the colors “make sense” to me I'm happy.

But what if the colors I chose are too saturated or too dark? I use the Adjustment Tools for this. I can just select the layer (or an area using the Selection Tool) and edit its darkness and saturation. I found this way easier than painting over or color-dropping repeatedly.

This is why I leverage as many layers as possible. It allows a modular control on my rendering - I can change the color of my character’s skin, eyes, or waistcoat patterns and keep all other components unaffected and clean. Sometimes I have like 100+ layers and it drives me batshit crazy but the pros still outweigh the cons. Or so I tell myself

( + I would love to understand grayscale and use it as freely as u do. I watched bunch of vids on it but something about it just hasn’t stuck with me yet 😔)

Shading I guess

Similar to coloring, I create several Multiply layers and stack them together for depth. For example:

This is again for that modular control but honestly I wouldn't be doing this if I was good at shading... I feel so lost every time, I just don't know how it works. But one ‘hack’ I’ve come up with is shading skins and clothes differently. I use reddish gray for skin (and brown/red hair), and just gray for everything else.

The character feels more lively and natural with a bit of red undertones in their skin. I don't think this is the best way to render skins though. Just a little shortcut til I get to study the topic more.

Something else I do to get over my fear of shading is using good references. I’m always lurking on Pinterest for them but alas, I can’t always find that perfect image with perfect lighting and poses. It’s kinda sad funny how the quality of my rendering depends so much on the reference:

(it's not a 'bad' reference per se - I chose it really for the pose, not for shading)

At the end of the day tho I’m just a learning artist so I try not to be too harsh on myself. Someday I'll render shiny shoes and shirt creases without refs. I yearn for that day 

Well on that cheerful note thanks for coming to my Ted Talk your interest in my rendering approach! I’ve been wanting to document it for my own records so this was great.

I picked up digital illustration just last year and self-learning it has been a fun but lonely process. If you have any tips or more questions talk to me ANYONE PLEASE I’m dying to talk about it if you can't tell by the sheer length of this post. For which I'm sorry but hopefully it wasn’t too dense a read ok I’m really done now bye!! 

[leclerced]

https://www.tumblr.com/leclerced/749923448162271232/httpswwwtumblrcomleclerced749911706000556032

Max taking such a intrest in her, that the other frat guys start to tease him. Sure they’ve seen girls fawning over Max, but Max fawning over a girl?? Who he’s only really met once? Yeah. He’s getting mercilessly teased, but it’s just because they love him. he gets her schedule with sone help from one of the guys in his frats girlfriends who works in the scheduling department or whatever, and is trying to figure out how to ask her on a date. Where should they go?? Flowers?? His default for his girlfriends has always been roses but he wants her to understand that she’s special so, tulips??

-

🩰

thinking about max and reader having a drunk conversation one night and she admits she hates roses, and he’s kind of offended and tells her that’s his go-to. when she hears that, she makes a face and says, “yeah. that’s exactly why i hate them. it’s a go-to gift, there’s no thought put into it.” he suddenly feels bad for every time he’d shown up with a bouquet of red roses, occasionally in a vase if it came sold that way. he tries asking what good flowers are and she retorts, “you’re supposed to think for yourself, that is the entire point. my favorite flower doesn’t matter. find one that means something to you.” and he immediately thinks about tulips, but he thought of it so quickly that it feels as obvious as a rose so he hesitates.

max starts researching flowers, learns that different flowers have different meanings and even the same flower in different colors could have different meanings. he’s learned the little white flowers in the rose bouquets he bought is called baby’s breath. he even goes as far as to research complementary colors to ensure if he goes with a multicolored bouquet it will all match. he’d have a page or two in one of his physics journals dedicated to his flower research, and one of the guys borrows it to copy notes. within an hour he’s asking who max is buying flowers for, and someone else is asking if it’s the girl from the party. one after the other, they all have something to say about it, passing the notebook around as he tries to get it back. they’re all teasing max for going soft and buying a girl flowers when he doesn’t even let them sleep in his bed.

[sluggybunny]

Sluggy i want to know more about Saturn! does she have any special skills or powers? a love interest? what is her personality likeeeee :>

first off.

i will cry. i love u. thank you for being interested in saturn. i shall tell you many things.

Saturn has special powers! She is magically awakened, aka she has magic powers. But she is freaked out by them lowkey and chooses not to develop them and instead suppresses them. Instead she is very skilled with beating the shit out of people & handling shotguns and machine pistols.

Her personality is very gaslight. girlboss. maybe a bit of gatekeep but shes mostly on that gaslighting shit. She is always lying, even about really innocuous stuff. You can never tell what her real feelings on a subject ever are because she is just dishonest down to her very bones. She's even dishonest to herself. She has a very nihilistic point of view on life and just is drawn to things that are 'exciting' or entertaining because what else is the point? Additionally, she's an elf so she's going to live a long time so that adds to it lol.

a snippet from her profile: "Saturn does not care. Whatever you're thinking about, she doesn't care. She would walk directly into hell with a smile on her face. A lifeless smile but a smile nonetheless. She is interesting in that she never puts on airs around people, she doesn't hide when she dislikes something or someone. She does not care for formalities or being polite. But that does not make her an honest person and when you interact with her, you walk away knowing less about her than you did before."

She has a love interest and he is (looks around the room to make sure nobody who knows who this character really is is here) Lofwyr, who is like. A dragon? CEO? Does the council agree with Dragon CEOs? LOL. He is like the master of all schemes, always pulling strings and makes elaborate plans so it was only natural she is drawn to him. Their relationship is very "you wanna fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid." I actually have drawn some comics and wrote a lot of stuff with them because I am unwell about them both. (Lofwyr is a character from the game/novels of Shadowrun, i get the award of having the most niche & obscure blorbo)

some other stuff about saturn:

she wears gold because of her boyfriend, yes. this is true. i know its more in trend for complementary/contrasting color schemes but you know whats hot? being decorated as a sign of being owned. sorry

she is native american/first nation which is very important to me, i am usually anxious to share my ndn characters

she is quite tall!!! 6'2/190 cm

her birthday is 4/2/24. in the current timeline of the story, she is around 56. i picked that year because thats the year I created her! (techincally, 2023 but i was in the hospital when i first thought of her. when i really started going nuts writing stuff, it was 2024)

[golvio]

A list of my current guesses about what’s going on in Echoes of Wisdom based on the private demo footage/descriptions floating around.

(Early game spoilers below cut)

The game’s pretty obvious about Hylia existing in its continuity, given the bigass Hylia statue plonked right in the middle of the hallway during Impa’s into scene. Also, Tri absolutely has something to do with Hylia & maybe the Golden Goddesses, both because of the obvious name + triangle motif connections to the Triforce, but also because they and “their friends” are apparently custodians responsible for mending any tears in reality that open up. Tri’s “echo” powers seem to be a limited, imperfect version of the Triforce’s power to grant any wish, which may presumably grow stronger the more “friends” they’ve gathered. I think EoW is going to touch on the Fujibayashi Reset!Creation Myth by talking about the creation of Hyrule, what the Triforce is, what Hylia’s role was, and what that means for Zelda as her ostensible successor.

If they’re going with the Fujibayashian version of the creation myth, then it’ll likely draw heavy inspiration from Shinto. Basically, I think the Still World might be some kind of pocket of the “primordial chaos” that existed before the goddesses created Hyrule. Either that, or Hyrule itself exists as some kind of island of differentiated creation in a sea of Primordial Chaos, which encroaches on the land and tries to revert it to Chaos if the realm isn’t actively being maintained, as it seems like the world’s “default state” is formless Chaos, given that living things trapped and frozen in the Still World are said to dissipate after a while. The “outer space” and “goopy black water” visual motifs also remind me of the Ancient Greek description of Chaos as a location full of “endless air” or associated with water. Ancient Egypt also characterized existence before creation as a “watery abyss” personified by the god Nu.

I’m also curious about whether the Still World might tie in with other parts of Shinto cosmogony, given the association between stagnant water and the concept of “kegare.”

Based on the Link mini boss, I definitely don’t think the “Ganon” we see in the intro is actually Ganon. I think he’s an echo-puppet being controlled by whatever’s controlling the Rifts. I think Ganon was among the first living creatures to be yoinked by the rift, and was likely either caught by surprise or spirited away while freshly revived and in a weakened state. I think Zelda’s definitely going to find his frozen body somewhere in the Still World, and she’ll either accidentally release him while figuring out how to rescue the captured townsfolk & her dad, or she’ll release him on purpose to sic him on whoever’s trying to assassinate her, because he’s absolutely going to be pissed when he wakes up. He’ll also likely turn the tables on Zelda to become the final boss, because he’s Ganon. Upstaging first act villains is what he does.

I’m not sure what that means for his trident, though. The camera focusing on it and it being a vibrant purple that’s a complementary color to Tri’s bright yellow suggests it might also be a special Echo-Weapon, but I’m not sure what that means yet.

There’s another place associated with “endless space” and “water” that we saw in Skyward Sword—the arena Demise set up for Link at the very end of the game. If Hylia’s here, would EoW possibly revisit Demise, too? Is Demise, as Hylia’s divine counterpart, some kind of personification of the Rift?

This one’s a long shot in the vein of crack theory territory, but I’m still holding on to hope that the metaphorical bus Ghirahim got put on when Demise died will come back. The first boss has certain similarities to both Scaldera (animated rock monster) and Koloktos (human-shaped vessel animated by purple goo), which might point to it being a simple construct animated by Ghirahim. We have the extremely sus “Trident of Darkness” analogue that echo-Ganon was wielding. Also, Ghirahim trying to destroy the world by putting it in eternal stasis, or “making it the way it was” would be a rather fitting and tragic expression of his grief over losing Demise, since his whole deal in SkSw was trying to force the world to go back to the way it was before Demise died by resurrecting him. Him being emotionally “stuck in stasis” after Demise totally beefed his second chance at life, leaving Ghirahim without a purpose, and Ghirahim taking it out on the rest of the world would make sense. It’d also be really fun to see him as a rival to Ganon instead of immediately accepting him as Demise’s successor and kissing his ass like he did in HW. I think the two of them could have a really interesting relationship.

[vt-scribbles]

Color Theory Confusion [long post/call for help]

There is a concept in color theory [it might have a different name?] that NOBODY talks about/teaches that I cannot wrap my head around, and it frustrates the hell out of me.

SO every video or w/e I find is like 'this is complimentary colors! Tri-whatever color palettes! blah blah blah' and I'm like YES. I know how to PAIR UP color types! But they're only! Talking about HUES!!!

They're talking about THIS:

Like! cool! I know how to use THIS part! I know my bullshit of like. All these colors technically work together. [READ MORE]

But these are all at full saturation. My knowledge stops here. And this is where I get frustrated. they'll whip out palettes like this:

Monochromatic:

Complementary:

Etc:

AnD THIS IS WHERE I GET GRUMPY. I understand 'this has red and blue so it works, this has different shades of green and blue so it works' but HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE VALUES? THE SATURATION??? Each of these palettes has varying values and saturation for each color, and it looks great! SO HOW DO YOU FIGURE /THAT/ PART OUT??? Why doesn't anyone talk about this part of color theory? I can only ever find people talking about how to pair HUES. I'm going insane.

HOW DO THESE COLORS GET PICKED??

Sources: Girl and the Glim

Sources: Magnum Bullets

Some of these palettes have SO many colors, but they're completely cohesive. And like! I understand why the HUES work together. Yellow and pink and blue, yellow and red, pink and green and brown, etc.

But all of these palettes have massive ranges of value and saturation. And that's why they work. But how do you figure that stuff out??? I hate trial-and-erroring my way through every project. Or worse, trying to make palettes for model sheets. I just don't get why I can't seem to find info/teachings on this specific aspect. It's like every 'color theory' video stops at 'here's how to pair up hues on the color wheel' or completely skips over this step like you should just. Know what to do.

Like, let's say I have a picture I wanna do. It's a forest scene. so I go 'okay, blue yellow and green. Those work together.' And I start with full saturation. But okay, I don't want full saturation... I want a muted palette. If I just choose randomly inside blue, yellow, and green, I get shit like this:

only ONE of these even remotely looks okay! And that's cuz they're ALL desaturated. But then look at this piece!

This does exactly what I WANTED to come up with, but like. How do you land on these colors? How do you pick them?

Bah

I am lost and confused and this is something seriously holding me back in my art. I'm so tired of doing Local colors on a character and then shading them with effects layers. I want to know how to /color them/ to be cohesive with a background. Or just... how to make colors for a background in the first place.

[cyrsed]

how do you get your colors in your art to look so good?

gonna resist the urge to say my colors aren't that great, and i'm gonna try and think about how i do color seriously.... also thank you for the compliment! i've always felt like i struggle with color but maybe i can still be helpful :B if this stuff is all super basic, apologies in advance

ig i already love bright colors, especially warm colors, but i feel like a lot of making visual art is bringing out the contrasts between colors, light and dark, textures, movement, saturation, curves and straight lines, etc., so that just means i usually try to think about the relationships between the colors a little more than the colors individually.

i also don't usually start with a solid color palette defined beforehand. i usually know the basic colors i want, but i don't typically choose them before i start bc that's too rigid for me, and i want to be able to adjust things or throw things out without worrying that i'm messing up the balance of a palette i already committed to.

so for this one

i used a lot of warm colors bc i loove earthy yellows and oranges, but i think it can make colors feel more vibrant if they're next to colors that contrast w/ it (warm and cool, or complementary colors).

the "gray" metal parts of the picture like the shelf stile coming down vertically, and the jar lids behind it, are green to contrast w the oranges and reds in particular, and there's some blue popping up in the zombie head and the shadows on the bottom shelf for the same reason, altho the blue is a touch on the greener, cooler side of blue (as opposed to the purpler, warmer side).

usually if i use a color in one place, i try to pull it into the rest of the picture for better balance unless maybe if it's the focal point. so i'm doing that with the blue, and the orange stickers to spread the bright orange from that big jar around more.

also i don't usually use straight gray/white/black, 99.9% of the time i'll use something tinted like that green metal stile, or the pinkish gray in the jar on the far right.

same here: it's mostly green and red bc i like that combo & they're complementary, but i did try to pull a little blue in as well through the shadows on the right ribcage and that one mystery organ under the green intestine, nd in the back of the leg.

that being said tho, it's not really "blue", it's more like nearly gray-purple that looks blue bc it's next to such bright warm colors. that's the magic of gray lol, it's very useful bc it's easy to make it look as if it's warm/cool depending on what colors it's surrounded with.

ig color for me is mostly about color relationships and saturation... the gray can look like blue if it needs to, and it can make the colors next to it look even more vibrant so the skin of this necromorph dude looks sickly and dead but the organs look pretty lively.

when i shade something i always try to use a color that's at least a little bit different from whatever the base color is. so in this case the base color was that kind of pale orange and the orange-ish gray, but the shadows are both super saturated & one is leaning more toward a sienna/orange (on the left side of the pic on the arm and ribs) and the other one is leaning a lil more toward a berry purple/red & i think that usually adds some nice depth to the color. also don't be afraid to add reeeally dark darks and really light lights, but imo the darks give colors the most life by contrast.

since this was a limited palette & not that detailed, i didn't worry about pulling that aquamarine anywhere else.

other than that, i just try to be bold with colors, and go for something exciting & not worry too much about whether it looks naturalistic. plus there's tons of colors you can pull out from regular objects/lighting/whatever else. this isn't specific to color, but the other thing i try to do is practice seeing what colors/forms are really there, not what i expect to be there.

a super basic example would be if i want to draw a banana, i don't want to just automatically reach for yellow bc bananas are yellow, i want to either look closely at the real banana i want to draw, and really try to see what colors are really there (which can be surprising tbqh), or if i'm not actually looking at a real one, then just try to pull in more color for the fun of it, like shading it with purple or blue maybe idk go nutso!

tl;dr i think i usually try to keep in mind

warm/cool color balance

complementary colors (altho tbh you can make any color combo look good, esp if you mess with warm/cool balance)

saturation (i keep a lot of things saturated, but also the contrast between saturation/desaturation can make the colors look more intense)

light and dark contrast

using tinted grays to imply a warmer/cooler color that contrasts with the main palette

color depth (shading with cooler and/or warmer variations of similar colors)

go nutso

[watermel0ns-dumb-cringe]

Calmly explaining my thought process with lighting & shading colors !! (Note that I am not a professional. I'm still a beginner artist (in my opinion,.,. If not beginner maybe amateur,, since. Mostly self taught)

So. Color theory is a weird fucking thing! But I like to try using complementary colors,, or whatever fits the mood I'm going for. Maybe even both!! Listen I know little to nothing about color theory other than complementary colors & how different colors evoke different feelings sometimes!!

For example, sometimes I go with things like these pairs!! A very light yellow, & a darker navy blue-ish color.

They admittedly clash a bit in tone, but for me, they evoke the feelings listed in the image. I'll shade & lower the opacity for both, which makes the blue stand out a little more. I'm not sure how it is with others, but it gives off a warm yet lonely feeling.

Depending on the character or situation, I'll pick from different colors a lot!! Admittedly I don't put much thought into it and just pick what I think fits, but I like to think about the possible reasoning after I draw something. It's fun to reflect!!

But yeah– colors can change a lot depending on the mood and/or area said character or object you're drawing is in. Blue colors tend to represent more sadder things, yet it can also represent calmness, stability, and wisdom. Yellow tends to represent happiness, caution, friendship, and/or betrayal. (Good example are Six & Mono from LN2 with their respective colors!! :])

Red tends to represent anger, & danger if I remember correctly!! I don't fully remember everything so those were just some examples. :]

Anyways I'm done yapping LOL I just wanted to talk about this rq :3